Europeiska ekonomiska och sociala kommittén
To turn solidarity with Ukraine into concrete action, the EESC is joining the European Parliament's "civil society hub" initiative for Ukraine, allowing the NGO Promote Ukraine to use part of its premises at rue de Trèves 74, along with logistical equipment.
With its new trade strategy, the EU will get tougher on its trading partners, giving sustainability centre stage. The EESC also firmly believes that civil society organisations and the social partners should be given a seat at the table, to ensure that the benefits emerging from this new trade policy are genuinely distributed among all participants, both in the EU and in the partner countries.
Democracy, human rights and the rule of law are core European values and the most important preconditions for EU membership. In line with the joint declaration from the 13th meeting of the EU-Serbia Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee | European Economic and Social Committee (europa.eu), we stress that fair, transparent elections are essential for any functioning democratic society, and that complete confidence in electoral processes is essential for democracy and rule of law.
Set up in 2001, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism seems to no longer be sufficiently capable of responding to disasters linked to climate change and multiple catastrophes, such as the current war in Ukraine. In the opinion Consolidating the EU-Civil Protection, EESC civil society representatives propose establishing a European agency that would link civil protection and humanitarian aid in a more consistent way. At the same time, it could pave the way towards stronger foreign policy actions.
Mot bakgrund av Europeiska rådets toppmöte antog Europeiska ekonomiska och sociala kommittén (EESK) i dag en resolution med titeln ”Kriget i Ukraina och dess ekonomiska, sociala och miljömässiga konsekvenser”.
The EESC’s Transatlantic Relations Follow-up Committee met to discuss two current and timely topics with the aim of strengthening the EU-US partnership on a global scene, particularly important in the current challenging international context: the state of play of the transatlantic trade policy and the Year of Action between the two Summits for Democracy.
In 2017, Ukraine and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States signed an Association Agreement, which confirmed close historical ties between the Parties, commitment to common values, and strong public support for Ukraine's European choice.
The conference on Strategic foresight: a vision for the future of Europe, held by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in the framework of its External Relations Section (REX) meeting, highlighted the emerging importance of identifying different possible futures, and explored pathways to tackle challenges and seize opportunities. The participants called for attention to civil society interests and concerns, underlining that these should be reflected in the Strategic Foresight Reports drafted by the Commission.
A week of EESC outstanding engagements on Trade and sustainable development (TSD) is proof that the voice of civil society matters when it comes to delivering a truly sustainable trade policy. It is also the result of relentless efforts to bring clear, relevant and operational recommendations to the table by means of its opinions. The debate is at its peak as the EU Commission reviews its own approach to TSD and Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs).
With China and Russia on the offensive, a renewed and reliable transatlantic partnership is the key to maintaining international and legal order and peace. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) supports the idea of an Alliance of Democracies, ensuring that civil society has significant say in the joint defence of universal values and rights.
